President Joe Biden suffered a fall on Thursday on the stage of the graduation ceremony of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (Colorado). "Okay. There was a sandbag on stage when he was shaking hands," White House spokesman Ben LaBoltsaid on Twitter.
Biden stumbles at ceremony in Colorado Springs.Andrew Harnik/AP
Biden, 80, received help from Secret Service agents and got up quickly and left the stage seemingly unscathed.
The president had just delivered a commencement address in which he warned graduates that they will enter service in an increasingly unstable world, citing challenges from Russia and China.
A stumble in Hiroshima
The incident comes weeks after Biden stumbled during his visit to the Itsukushima shrine in Hiroshima, Japan.
In that act there was a railing available on some stairs by which the president had to go down. Biden didn't lean on it and fell.
Three years ago, then-President Donald Trump, now 76, appeared to struggle as he walked down a ramp after delivering his commencement address at West Point in New York and had to be helped.
Biden's downfall comes during his re-election campaign for president, and when his age (and that of Trump, who also aspires to be a candidate for the White House in 2024) is the subject of political debate.
